Israel says it is expanding the permitted fishing zone off Gaza’s coast, the latest sign that a cease-fire deal with Palestinian terrorists is moving forward.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said Tuesday that it had expanded the fishing zone to 15 nautical miles (28 kilometers).

The cease-fire agreement, brokered earlier this month by the U.N., Egypt and Qatar, ended the worst bout of violence between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers since a devastating 2014 war.

The deal calls for economic incentives to ameliorate the dire conditions in the Gaza Strip, including loosening restrictions on movement and allowing cash for civil servant salaries and Qatari-funded fuel shipments into the enclave. Israel imposed a blockade with Egypt’s help after Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

According to the report by the military commentator of News12, Roni Daniel, the mutual understandings reached between the two parties are as follows: The Palestinians agree to a cease-fire and an end to the violent events on the border fence, the preservation of the security zone – 300 meters from the fence, the cessation of night confrontations and the cessation of the flotillas to the coastal area.

For its part, Israel expressed willingness to expand the fishing area to 15 miles, promote a UN-initiated deal, transfer drugs and civilian aid, and open negotiations on electricity, crossings, health and finances.

All this is supposed to take place in six months. If the rules are maintained, the Palestinians demand a rapid pace of implementation, and then they will enter the most problematic phase in which the sides will discuss the IDF Soldiers who were killed in Gaza and the two civilians who are still being held there.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)